we choose the people (who choose us)
by MedusaOfTheSpecies
Summary: You are Andromeda Black (bloodtraitor, star-chaser, liar) and he is Ted Tonks (mudblood, dreamer, kindred soul) and somehow, you two fall in love against all odds :: Nonlinear, nonconnected drabbles/oneshots about the life and times of Ted and Andromeda
1. RivalsFriendsLovers

For the Can You Make It To the End Challenge (Round 2, Andromeda/Ted, Hogwarts library), the Colors of the Rainbow Competition (Yellow- write about any Hufflepuff) and the Lover's Day event at Hogwarts (Trope- Rivals to friends to lovers)

 **Rivals**

The first time you two meet goes somewhat like this:

You are haughty and gorgeous and you know everyone is staring because you are Andromeda Black and you are a goddess, a galaxy. The world wants to know you, love you, be you, kill you. It is always those at the top who have the furthest to fall.

 _You realize this much too late._

...

He is Ted Tonks and he is inferior- mudblood, Hufflepuff- but there are people who adore him, who say he's kind and fair and honest and _perfect._

You taste blood in your mouth when you hear it. You are the queen, not him, for you are a Black and he is inferior.

You hate him for it and you vow that you will make him regret making him your enemy.

 **Friends**

Later, years later, Nymphadora will perch on the seat of her chair and ask if you became a bloodtraitor for her father.

It sounds like a star-crossed romance but you know it is a lie to say yes, because in reality it does not go like that.

It starts like this: you spend more time in the library than anywhere else and one day you stumble onto a Muggle Studies textbook and you cannot look away, just stand, eternally enthralled.

And flash forward, weeks later, it is Bellatrix who catches you reading and screams murder, but it is your mother who threatens to burn you off the family tree.

…

Ted Tonks is beyond horrible at charms and you used to catalogue it with a haughty smirk for every time you beat him to success.

But now, you are at odds with the rest of your family (contract burned, family name dishonored) and maybe that's why you agree when Professor Flitwick asks you to tutor him in the library this Friday.

….

The thing is, you can't hate him no matter how much you try. You try your best- glare, manipulate, insult- but he comes back every Friday with a smile and a new nickname for you. You glare at him for "Andy", hex him at "Andro," and don't talk to him for a week "Aneda."

But finally, he shows up with another package of pencils for you (you mentioned once you hated quills and you don't even know how he remembers that) and a simple "Dromeda."

That's when you fall head over heels.

 **Lovers**

In every story, the princess marries the prince in a lavish ceremony at sunset, family and friends cheering in the background.

But this is no fairytale. You are far from a princess and you refuse to put him into the role of a knight in shining armor. You two have carved your own fairytale from scratch with every defiant moment and this time around hand-in-hand, you both step into the future of your dreams.


	2. Embarrassment (or the lack of it)

_Written for the Lovers Day event at Hogwarts (Prompt: "Why are you so embarrassing?" / "Stop holding my hand then." / "No.")_

* * *

"Dromeda," Ted said patiently, sighing slightly at the pain in his left arm.

"Yes, Theodore?" Andromeda answered with a raised eyebrow, smoothing back her wild hair in a graceful, almost effortless motion. Her other hand remained tight around his.

"You do realize you have been clutching at my hand so hard it's going to scar, right?" Ted asked calmly, unconsciously running his fingers over the hand that was entwined with Andromeda's.

Glancing downwards at their clutched hands, Andromeda raised her eyebrow at him. "Gosh Theodore, I didn't realize you were so clingy."

Ted rolled his eyes at Andromeda, a fond smile tugging at the edge of his lip. "Dromeda, we are literally sitting in the Healer's office right now, waiting to find out if you're pregnant with our mutually conceived child. I don't think you're nearly as annoyed with my clinginess as you pretend you are."

Sticking her nose in the air, Andromeda countered back with a bored and ever haughty, "Do you need reassurance right now, in public? Gosh, why are you so embarrassing?"

Ted internally rolled his eyes. After almost six years of knowing Andromeda Black (and later Tonks), he had become a talented and constant participant in the mind games she played on a regular basis.

Ted raised an eyebrow. "Stop holding my hand then."

"No," Andromeda said back simply and the topic was settled without another word from either of them.

Sighing lightly, Ted nestled his head in Andromeda's shoulder and buried himself in the untamable curls of her hair. He hoped, above all, that Andromeda was really pregnant. Throughout the time he had known her, Andromeda had put up with so much hatred from her family, especially over him. Now, it was the least he could do for her now, to give her a family that wanted and loved her.


	3. My favorite parent (is neither of you)

_Written for the lovers day event at Hogwarts: (Scenario) Asking children who their favorite parent is_

* * *

"Theodore," Andromeda said through gritted teeth. "There is no way in all of magic that you are Nymphadora's favorite parent.

"And why is that?" Ted countered, waving his hands as he talked. "It's not like all little girls have such a close relationship with their mothers, just like at you."

Andromeda glared. Ted stuck out his tongue at her, enjoying the way her face has gotten red from her rage.

"Well Theodore, I'll have you know that your mother and father both prefer me over you," Andromeda said sweetly, batting her eyelashes.

Ted glared back and Andromeda laughed, an unexpected voice joining in her amusement. Whipping around in shock, Andromeda and Ted found Nymphadora seated on the floor beside the fridge, roaring with laughter.

Upon realizing that her parents had noticed her presence, Nymphadora waved them on, hiccupping with laughter. "No, no, continue please."

Smiling at her daughter, Andromeda kneeled down to Nymphadora. Ted, upon realizing what his wife was about to do, ran over and sat beside her.

"Nymphadora, honey, who would you say your favorite parent is?" Andromeda asked, forced nonchalance in her voice.

"Do godparents count?" Nymphadora wondered along.

Andromeda paled. "Well, yes, I assume they do."

Nymphadora perked up. "Oh, that's easy then! Cousin Sirius is my favorite."

Andromeda and Ted exchanged a horrified look over Nymphadora's head, both of them wondering where they had gone wrong.

"Dora, is there a reason behind that?' Ted asked, struggling to remain calm.

Nymphadora shrugged. "Well, he didn't saddle me with a name like Nymphadora, did he?"

Ted and Andromeda let out a sigh simultaneously. Andromeda rubbed the side of her head, feeling a headache coming in. All she knew was that she would be canceling Friday night dinner with Sirius. It was clear he was being a bad influence and tainting her poor daughter.


	4. marry me (I can't live without you)

_Written for the Lover's Day Event at Hogwarts (prompt: "Will you marry me?" / "Maybe if you learn how to do the dishes without being asked.")_

* * *

"Deserts ready," Ted announced, waving his wand to clear away the dishes. Andromeda smiled gracefully at him from the dining table where her law books were spread out around her.

"Thanks, Theodore. I don't think I'd be alive at this point if it wasn't for you." Andromeda said, ruffling through a stack of papers that was suspiciously close to falling down. Ted winced.

"Do you really have to do that while we eat?" Ted asked.

Andromeda's face fell. "I'm sorry Ted, but it's important. I have a case about this muggleborn girl and-"

"Don't worry about it," Ted said. "I'm so proud of you for trying to make a difference."

Andromeda studied him carefully, looking at his fond smile, soft cheeks, and food-stained hands. They had been through so much together, family issues and childhood fears, a love sealed in stolen kisses and honest words in Hogwarts's dim halls. Now, it was time for her to make the next step.

"Will you marry me?" Andromeda asked, clutching her hands together in her lap.

"Maybe if you learn how to do the dishes without being asked," Ted retorted back without hesitation, smiling.

Andromeda smiled back but turned solemn. "No, I'm serious."

Now, it was Ted's turn to study Andromeda, glancing over her bitten lip and worried eyes. He quickly came to a decision.

"Yes, Andromeda. I would marry you without any hesitation." Ted answered softly.

The stress left Andromeda's face and she beamed, radiant in the light of their kitchen. Staring at her, Ted realized that he had made the right decision, no matter what the future threw at them.


	5. walK me through hell (Orpheus AU)

_Written for the Lovers Day Event at Hogwarts (Orpheus AU)_

* * *

For someone who has the ability to charm all living things, you are a failure. You used it to charm people into better moods, animals into a healthier life, but when Andromeda called for you, needed you, you were too late to help.

How foolish could you have been to let her go alone? You knew what she was like, eternally haunted by those who thought she was unworthy.

But the thing is you never expected it, not at your wedding. She wore silver and was beautiful, dancing among her people. You never saw any of it coming, the satyr or the nest of viper biting at her heel. How could you have, foreseen a betrayal as big as this one, her own family of snakes sacrificing her to appease hungry gods who do not care?

…

When she dies, you weep but carry on. You play the lyre so sorrowful that all the nymphs and gods weep, and then you take their advice and hike down to the underworld. You can do this: you've drowned out sirens and made the earth shake with your sadness. Surely you can rescue the maiden you love?

…

You are so caught up in your desire to save Andromeda that you miss it, the smirk on Hades face and the mischievous smile Persephone tosses at her husband.

Once again, you never see it coming.

…

You can't help yourself, to turn around once and make sure she's okay, that she's alive. Sadly, you live to regret it. You wish it could have been you instead of her, for you are unworthy to live when does not.

…

This time around, when you crumble to your feet in sorrow, not even the gods can help you. You are alone again and it is all the result of your own mistakes.


	6. the star of my heart (is you)

_Written for Can You Make It To the End challenge (Round 2: AndromedaTed, shrieking shack), the Colours of the Rainbow Competition (Black- stars) and the Lover's Day Event at Hogwarts (prompt: "The stars are so pretty. You know what else is pretty?")_

* * *

Ted reached down to offer Andromeda a hand as the two climbed up to the roof of the shrieking shack. Shaking her head and rejecting the offered hand, Andromeda pulled herself up on her own, leaping up from a windowsill. Ted applauded.

"Thank you, thank you," Andromeda said, taking a mock bow. Ted made a face at her, enjoying the way Andromeda stuck her tongue out childishly back at him.

Ted patted the spot beside him and Andromeda sat down, wrapping her cloak around herself tighter.

"The view of the sky is beautiful from here, isn't it?" Andromeda said, staring up at the sky in wonder. "I'm glad my cousin told us about this place not actually being haunted."

"I'm glad too," Ted answered. Looking at Andromeda, his smile softened. "The stars are so pretty. You know what else is pretty?"

Andromeda turned her head sideways, considering it. "Nothing."

"Huh?' Ted answer, eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

Andromeda repeated her words slowly and deliberately, as if talking to a five year old, "Nothing means the lack of anything, Theodore. There is nothing as beautiful as the stars because stars are a cosmic presence necessary in our everyday life. Nothing else matches that criteria, therefore there is nothing as pretty as the stars."

Ted buried his face in his folded up feet, breathing deeply to try and keep him calm demeanor. "I was going to say you, Dromeda. You are pretty like the stars."

Andromeda ducked her face to hide her grin. "Thank you Theodore, that delightfully clueless but adorable simultaneously."

Ted's eyes narrowed. "You knew what I was going to say, didn't you? You said that just to make me frustrated you …. Snake."

Andromeda's smirk deepened and she leaned down to whisper huskily into Ted's ear. "Don't worry little badger, I won't eat you alive. I promise."

Despite himself, Ted shivered.


	7. you are a hero (Mafia AU)

_Written for the colors of the Rainbow Competiton (purple- write about a character sacrificing themselves for another character) and the Lover's Day Event at Hogwarts (Mafia AU)_

* * *

Ted to tried to stick his face through the bars of his cell, wincing at the cold metal against his cheeks. It had been almost 48 hours since he had found himself captured and brought to the Black manor dungeon. Since then, he had tried everything but to no avail, found himself starving and thirsty, waiting out the rest of his days.

It had all started when he had gotten a case on his desk about an illegal smuggling ring. The case file had cast suspicions on the Black family. Though the family had been thoroughly investigated, no signs of anything illegal had been found, and Ted had almost been about to close the case before he had gotten an anonymous tip with nothing but a location.

After that, everything was a blur- he remembered the blonde Black sister (Naria? Narisa?), a plate of food, and passing out in the middle of a quiet restaurant. When he woke up, it had been here.

Suddenly, the sounds of footsteps pulled him out of his thoughts. Craning his ears, Ted heard them getting louder until the middle Black sister was standing outside of his cell, a flashlight and a set of keys in her hands.

"Are you here to kill me?" Ted rasped, coughing as he felt the soreness of his throat.

The girl rolled her eyes, opening the cell door. "My prefer murder weapon isn't a flashlight but I'll keep it in mind if I get desperate. Now, get out of here!"

Ted couldn't help perking up but the long since trained police instincts in him prevented him from getting too excited. "And why would you help a police officer on your parent's case escape? You do realize if I escape, your family's empire is doomed?"

The girl rolled her eyes and he finally remembered her name- Andromeda Black. "It may come as a surprise to you, but I have this crazy thing called a conscience. Sadly, for my family's _empire_ , I have a slight problem with a people-smuggling ring."

Ted couldn't breathe. A smuggling ring! It was even worse than he had ever dreamed of. He needed to leave, now!

"Thank you," Ted said, trying his best to stay calm.

"The door is over there," Andromeda said, pointing to the far corner of the basement. "It looks like part of them wall but you can feel it. Now go already!"

Ted ran, blindly groping the wall as he tried to escape. Finding the lever, he pulled and a small door opened.

"Wait!" Andromeda called and he turned around, halfway out the door.

Andromeda smirked at him. "When you tell this story, make me seem like a hero. I prefer not to be spat on when I go outside, after all."

Ted couldn't help but smile back. "I will because you are one. You've saved so many people with your actions today, Andromeda Black."

Andromeda turned around, but he saw a faint blush on his cheeks as he turned and ran, hearing her scream to her parents about an escapee.


	8. A letter from my heart

**A/N:** Italics means the words has been crossed out

 _Written for the Lover's Day Event at Hogwarts (prompt: Sending a love letter, but the content of the letter is just bad jokes)_

* * *

Dear Theodore Tonks (aka that weird Hufflepuff who keeps stealing my tie and should really give it back),

I write to you from upon the glorious location of my bed, where my elder sister tried to kill me today. She also tried to kill the owl who will be bringing this letter to you, but he's a survivor. I'm not, so I have a little bit of a haircut from where my hair took a sacrifice. I hope you can still love me anyways.

Narcissa seems to still be mad at my for accidentally _absolutely purposely_ getting rid of her tea party invitation. I continue to pretend I had no part in Dobby eating it, but that's just a personal choice.

I miss you, today especially, ( _not because I wanted to use you as a sacrifice for when my sisters try to kill me, no, that's just silly)_. It's just that it's so quiet without your throaty _croaky bullfrog_ voice and kindly _drunken_ personality.

Write back soon,

The coolest person you have ever met

* * *

Dearest Dromeda,

I'm sorry to hear about your hair. It's the one part of you that never tried to kill me _yet_. Therefore, it had a very special place in my heart.

My house is very quiet, mainly because my family members prefer quiet hobbies such as knitting instead of assassinations. Maybe after tea time?

I have been spending most of my time studying, in an attempt to make Professor Flitwick hate me a little less. He still seems to hold a grudge over last time where I accidentally charmed a teacup into a flamingo that ate Rabastan Lestrange. Oops?

I miss you too, darling, your ebony black hair, and sweet, kind heart.

 _I'm sorry, I tried but that's so clearly a lie that it hurts, you insane snake_

Missing you and counting down the days,

Ted Tonks _(Stop calling me Theodore!)_


	9. to deal with loss (together)

_Written for the Lover's Day Event at Hogwarts (prompt: Photo Album)_

* * *

Ted Tonks closed the front door of his house behind him, stopping to take off his shoes and put his coat away. The front hallway of their house was to be immaculate or Andromeda tended to get angry and anxious. Straining his ears, Ted listened for the sound of his wife cooking away but couldn't hear anything. That was odd, usually, Andromeda tended to get home long before him and was usually well on her way to burning dinner before he interfered.

"Dromeda?" Ted called, wandering into the kitchen. The kitchen was empty surprisingly, plates put away and stove still off. Ted's frown deepened.

He checked the upstairs floor next but she wasn't napping the way she did sometimes from exhaustion after a long day at work. Suddenly, Ted noticed that the door leading outside was open. Slipping on a sweater, Ted went out into the backyard.

That's where Ted saw Andromeda. She was hunched over a photo album, silently shaking from tears. Ted walked up and slipped his sweater over her shivering body. Andromeda turned and began to sob quietly into his shoulder.

"He's gone, Ted," Andromeda said.

"Who?" Ted asked nervously.

"My Uncle Alphard, the only normal family member I had left outside of Sirius," Andromeda answered bitterly, clutching onto the photo album like it was a lifeline.

Ted held Andromeda tighter. "I'm so sorry Andy, I knew how close you two were."

"Yes, we were," Andromeda said blankly. "I just can't stand to lose anyone else, Ted. No more loss."

Ted closed his eyes. "I know, but we'll deal with it. Together, I promise. Now, show me that album, surely we can find some embarrassing photos of him here."

Letting out a startled laugh, Andromeda hunched over the album and began to talk, happiness slowly seeping into her demeanor. Ted smiled.


End file.
